Business

By Tom Polansek and Juveria Tabassum (Reuters) – Smithfield Foods does not plan to close more U.S. pork processing plants, Chief Executive Shane Smith said on Tuesday, as the company returned to a U.S. exchange after more than a decade in a spinoff by Hong Kong-based WH Group. The biggest U.S. pork processor also is paying close attention to trade and immigration policy changes under U.S. President Donald Trump as it exports pork and relies … Read more…

By Saqib Iqbal Ahmed NEW YORK (Reuters) – Monday’s massive selloff in AI-darling Nvidia’s shares did little to blunt options traders’ enthusiasm for the chipmaker’s shares, with traders quick to pile back into bullish Nvidia contracts as the stock recovered on Tuesday. Nvidia shares slumped about 17% or close to $593 billion in market value – a record one-day loss for any company – on Monday on worries sparked by a low-cost Chinese artificial intelligence … Read more…

(Reuters) – Amazon’s Prime Video has shifted its strategic focus towards live sports and away from original television shows and movies, seeking to meet internal corporate profit targets, The Information reported on Friday. Amazon’s reported move marks a pivotal moment for the tech giant as it looks beyond its traditional focus on original content for generating revenue. Live sports events, with their real-time viewership, offer valuable opportunities for targeted ad placements, and has encouraged streaming … Read more…

(Reuters) – Wall Street banks are preparing to sell a big portion of debt holdings in social media platform X, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. Bankers at Morgan Stanley have contacted investors ahead of next week’s planned sale of up to $3 billion in debt that lenders like Bank of America and Barclays granted Elon Musk in order to finalize his 2022 acquisition of the business that … Read more…

(Reuters) – Generative artificial intelligence heavyweight OpenAI on Thursday previewed an AI agent that can carry out tasks on the web for users, as it seeks to enhance its chatbot amid intensifying competition. The tool, called Operator, is powered by a model that allows it to interact with on-screen buttons, menus and text fields. “This capability marks the next step in AI development, allowing models to use the same tools humans rely on daily and … Read more…

By Divya Chowdhury and Lisa Pauline Mattackal DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) – Global chief executives see much more corporate dealmaking in 2025, with an increased number expecting to pursue mergers and acquisitions after U.S. President Donald Trump was elected to a second term in November, a survey showed. Some 56% of CEOs expect to actively pursue M&A activity in 2025, compared with just 37% in September, according to an EY-Parthenon CEO Outlook Survey in November and … Read more…

(Reuters) – The U.S. government on Friday announced a list of 15 prescription medicines targeted for Medicare price negotiations for 2027, which includes Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy.Here’s what Wall Street analysts say about the inclusion: WHAT IT MEANS FOR PATIENTSThe potential for more aggressive price cuts would enable wider access to GLP-1 drugs – the same class of drugs as Ozempic and Wegovy – for people over the age of 65. Medicare prescription … Read more…

By Ernest Scheyder (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Energy has finalized a $996 million loan for ioneer’s Rhyolite Ridge lithium project, according to documents reviewed by Reuters, an increase of $296 million from a preliminary funding offer and a move aimed at boosting President Joe Biden’s green energy legacy. Shares of ioneer jumped 15% to $4.96 during Friday afternoon trading in New York. Scant U.S. production of lithium, an ultralight metal used to make … Read more…

By Dawn Chmielewski (Reuters) – Businessman Frank McCourt is “open-minded” to keeping TikTok’s existing investors, including the founder, involved after any deal to buy the U.S. operations of the Chinese-owned short-form video app, the U.S. billionaire told Reuters on Thursday. McCourt said in an interview his consortium has made a formal offer to buy TikTok from its Chinese parent company ByteDance, confirming reports that it values the app without its algorithm at around $20 billion. … Read more…

(Reuters) – Microsoft said on Thursday that it is now including Copilot AI features to its Microsoft 365 suite for individual consumers, a day after it rolled out on-demand AI agents for businesses. The Windows-maker will give its customers an option to either choose a Microsoft 365 subscription plan with Copilot AI features or one without it. It will also increase the prices of subscription plans in the U.S. by $3. Copilot will assist users … Read more…